Our God is Amazing.

Sometimes, it takes hard things to get your attention.
Here, I'm going to practice vulnerability. You know that I don't like sharing my whole life on here, and I won't, but, I want to, and need to, write about this, and I'll get over the discomfort. And, it sure isn't comfortable to admit that I was very prideful about this play audition. I didn't get a callback, and I was, naturally, disappointed and somewhat crushed. I had sincerely prayed for a role. I talked with God about it, and I worked to examine my heart to feel out any bad attitudes. I felt confident that I could do well, and I was looking forward to being cast. Well, that's not happenin'. Nope, I was pretty much shut down from the beginning. Hm.

Now, God, I asked you for this specifically. We chatted for a while about this, didn't we? Not just a shot-to-the-ceiling prayer, we really discussed it, yeah? I told You how I would work hard, how I would give you praise, how I would use it for a ministry, and on and on. But, You know, (better than I) that, even then, when I was trying to convince both of us that I was pure of heart, that I being quite snobbish. I was being a prideful sinner. Sin. Bad. Evil. Yuck.

And so. I have been begging God for a change of heart, a penetration of my heart. It want him to reach deeper and to claim what I've kept for myself. I've asked him to humble me, even though I've been worried about how He would answer that prayer. Here, I have been humbled. I have asked Him for something I really wanted, I "gave it to Him," and He said, "No, not now." (And maybe, just a flat "no.")

Lesson 1 - Lindsay, you don't know what's best for you. You are not a wise as you think you are. God does know what's best for you, and He makes it happen. You aren't going to be in the show this Fall. It wasn't what's best for you. Not being in the show, that is. Trust that He knows what He's doing.

Lesson 2 - When you give something to God, Lindsay, don't take it back. (Thank you, Millie for this revolutionary thought!)

Lesson 3 - What does hope look like? Is hope wanting something to happen? Is hope trusting that something will happen? Is hope looking ever forward and upward towards the promise of heaven? Is the kind of hope we have for things different from the hope God tells us we are supposed to have?

Lesson 4 - God is to praised in everything. Our gracious God, the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine, the Uncreated One, the Perfect Healer, the One Who sees right through each of us, right through me, is to be praised in the sunshine and the rain. Who am I, and what is this problem, to stand in the way of our God receiving the worship He so rightly deserves? Can you not see, Lindsay, that He is orchestrating everything to bring about your best? Can you trust the Father who sent His only Son to be murdered so that He could have you? Can't you trust Him?! He is awesome. He is worthy. He is beautiful and glorious. May He truly be my all in all, my everything.

Another lesson in humbling myself - we had the senior/freshmen foot washing tonight. It was incredible. Seeing how our actions touched the freshmen, these tough guys with misty eyes, these girls who immediately became shy, these seniors so willing to get down on their knees to show the freshmen that they cared... It was incredible. So incredible. Praying for those girls that I didn't even know was an extraordinary experience. I am so thankful for it. And, I could be genuine. There was nothing false about bring myself lower. Some quote from someone says, bring humble "isn't thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less." Just incredible. What a day.

(Sidenote: Yes, there have been other rough times, and, yes, I've learned from those, too, but, this time, I actually felt like I could and should write about it here.)

Our God is Amazing.

Sometimes, it takes hard things to get your attention.
Here, I'm going to practice vulnerability. You know that I don't like sharing my whole life on here, and I won't, but, I want to, and need to, write about this, and I'll get over the discomfort. And, it sure isn't comfortable to admit that I was very prideful about this play audition. I didn't get a callback, and I was, naturally, disappointed and somewhat crushed. I had sincerely prayed for a role. I talked with God about it, and I worked to examine my heart to feel out any bad attitudes. I felt confident that I could do well, and I was looking forward to being cast. Well, that's not happenin'. Nope, I was pretty much shut down from the beginning. Hm.

Now, God, I asked you for this specifically. We chatted for a while about this, didn't we? Not just a shot-to-the-ceiling prayer, we really discussed it, yeah? I told You how I would work hard, how I would give you praise, how I would use it for a ministry, and on and on. But, You know, (better than I) that, even then, when I was trying to convince both of us that I was pure of heart, that I being quite snobbish. I was being a prideful sinner. Sin. Bad. Evil. Yuck.

And so. I have been begging God for a change of heart, a penetration of my heart. It want him to reach deeper and to claim what I've kept for myself. I've asked him to humble me, even though I've been worried about how He would answer that prayer. Here, I have been humbled. I have asked Him for something I really wanted, I "gave it to Him," and He said, "No, not now." (And maybe, just a flat "no.")

Lesson 1 - Lindsay, you don't know what's best for you. You are not a wise as you think you are. God does know what's best for you, and He makes it happen. You aren't going to be in the show this Fall. It wasn't what's best for you. Not being in the show, that is. Trust that He knows what He's doing.

Lesson 2 - When you give something to God, Lindsay, don't take it back. (Thank you, Millie for this revolutionary thought!)

Lesson 3 - What does hope look like? Is hope wanting something to happen? Is hope trusting that something will happen? Is hope looking ever forward and upward towards the promise of heaven? Is the kind of hope we have for things different from the hope God tells us we are supposed to have?

Lesson 4 - God is to praised in everything. Our gracious God, the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine, the Uncreated One, the Perfect Healer, the One Who sees right through each of us, right through me, is to be praised in the sunshine and the rain. Who am I, and what is this problem, to stand in the way of our God receiving the worship He so rightly deserves? Can you not see, Lindsay, that He is orchestrating everything to bring about your best? Can you trust the Father who sent His only Son to be murdered so that He could have you? Can't you trust Him?! He is awesome. He is worthy. He is beautiful and glorious. May He truly be my all in all, my everything.

Another lesson in humbling myself - we had the senior/freshmen foot washing tonight. It was incredible. Seeing how our actions touched the freshmen, these tough guys with misty eyes, these girls who immediately became shy, these seniors so willing to get down on their knees to show the freshmen that they cared... It was incredible. So incredible. Praying for those girls that I didn't even know was an extraordinary experience. I am so thankful for it. And, I could be genuine. There was nothing false about bring myself lower. Some quote from someone says, bring humble "isn't thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less." Just incredible. What a day.

(Sidenote: Yes, there have been other rough times, and, yes, I've learned from those, too, but, this time, I actually felt like I could and should write about it here.)

I haven't had time to blog. Also, my laptop's in the mail right now (to be fixe: it won't turn on), and that makes things just a tad more difficult. But, I've kept a list of things that I need to write about when I have the time. Once again, an example of how I really like making list. (Fragment!)

Here is my list:
Fantastic OG! Facilitating - chat w/ Dr. H & Wilhoit
Auditions
Back @ BC - church - refresh - home!

Here, I expound a little on the OG stuff:

OG stands for freshmen Orientation Group. Mine is the bomb-diggity-est! Ten new people, all with completely different personalities, so different, different outward appearances, so different, and, just, different. Like, I knew that I could get out of my comfort zone to get to know these kids, whoever they would turn out to be, but, would they be willing to get to know each other? That is, in fact, the purpose of our little group. Which is called the Grudel Clan. Put an umlout above the "u." Oh yes.
I'm so please with how their interacting with each other, and it makes me so excited. I love it.

I haven't had time to blog. Also, my laptop's in the mail right now (to be fixe: it won't turn on), and that makes things just a tad more difficult. But, I've kept a list of things that I need to write about when I have the time. Once again, an example of how I really like making list. (Fragment!)

Here is my list:
Fantastic OG! Facilitating - chat w/ Dr. H & Wilhoit
Auditions
Back @ BC - church - refresh - home!

Here, I expound a little on the OG stuff:

OG stands for freshmen Orientation Group. Mine is the bomb-diggity-est! Ten new people, all with completely different personalities, so different, different outward appearances, so different, and, just, different. Like, I knew that I could get out of my comfort zone to get to know these kids, whoever they would turn out to be, but, would they be willing to get to know each other? That is, in fact, the purpose of our little group. Which is called the Grudel Clan. Put an umlout above the "u." Oh yes.
I'm so please with how their interacting with each other, and it makes me so excited. I love it.

Home again, home again

Yeah, yeah, Mom would say that college isn't my home-home, but, I feel very much at home here. It's familiar, and it's friendly. Many Friends are on campus now, and it'll be even better when the rest of the BC crew comes in.

I'm a freshmen orientation group leader this year. It's my first year having this opportunity and it's been so great so far! The freshmen haven't come in yet, so maybe that's why... but really! I got to work with Erika and Justus on getting things set up for our orientation group leader (OGL) retreat, and I we had an absolute blast! I seriously can't remember laughing so hard for so long (a straight 15 minutes), and about something so silly, too! So, new/better friends. Very good. And our retreat, that was good, too. More new friends, getting deeper, being humbled, remembering that the main focus of being an OGL is to be a servant. That's a very good point. See, I'm a senior, so I know things that these new kids don't know, so I'm smart, and I'm great, and I should be listened to, and I'm totally off base. No. I am to be a servant. A servant first. And I need to put them first, not me. Anticipate their needs, do something about their needs, listen to them and their emotionally charged outbursts, make them feel welcome, pretty much at all costs. How exciting is that?! Really, I'm stoked.

The freshmen will be coming in tomorrow, and I'll be helping them move into Huston, the dorm with roughly 40 freshmen girls living on the top floor. Wow. I'd better start eating my Wheaties now.

There's not much else to say. My room's really humid. My roommate's bringing her dehumidifier on Monday. We'll be having a futon in our room, too, and that will be awesome for having groups over. Erm, yeah, that's about it.

Until then!

Home again, home again

Yeah, yeah, Mom would say that college isn't my home-home, but, I feel very much at home here. It's familiar, and it's friendly. Many Friends are on campus now, and it'll be even better when the rest of the BC crew comes in.

I'm a freshmen orientation group leader this year. It's my first year having this opportunity and it's been so great so far! The freshmen haven't come in yet, so maybe that's why... but really! I got to work with Erika and Justus on getting things set up for our orientation group leader (OGL) retreat, and I we had an absolute blast! I seriously can't remember laughing so hard for so long (a straight 15 minutes), and about something so silly, too! So, new/better friends. Very good. And our retreat, that was good, too. More new friends, getting deeper, being humbled, remembering that the main focus of being an OGL is to be a servant. That's a very good point. See, I'm a senior, so I know things that these new kids don't know, so I'm smart, and I'm great, and I should be listened to, and I'm totally off base. No. I am to be a servant. A servant first. And I need to put them first, not me. Anticipate their needs, do something about their needs, listen to them and their emotionally charged outbursts, make them feel welcome, pretty much at all costs. How exciting is that?! Really, I'm stoked.

The freshmen will be coming in tomorrow, and I'll be helping them move into Huston, the dorm with roughly 40 freshmen girls living on the top floor. Wow. I'd better start eating my Wheaties now.

There's not much else to say. My room's really humid. My roommate's bringing her dehumidifier on Monday. We'll be having a futon in our room, too, and that will be awesome for having groups over. Erm, yeah, that's about it.

Until then!

Poems with Peter and Lindsay

I rediscovered these poems that Peter and I wrote this Spring during his visit to Bryan. We'll write one line, then pass the poem to the other until we have a complete, beautiful work of art. They're fun for creativity exercises, even if the rythms and rhymes are off at times. :)

My lines are normal, and Peter's lines are italicized.

---

The shrimp colony had reached its home.
"We're home!" called Father Shrimply.
The shrimpy shrimps ran out, their homeland to roam.
The wet ocean sand pink and pimply.

Such joy, so free! The shrimps swim 'round wild.
Gaily the invertebrates flitted around.
The barracuda only saw their gleeful smiles.
Before eating a shrimp names Giles.

---

The scent of face raspberry filled the air
But thankfully added to her sense of flair.
He's never respected the way she dressed
And truly her fashion was indeed repressed.

Culottes and jumpers and sensible shoes
And ugly barrettes, so yesterday's news
Or maybe actually the day before that.
Her clothes should, instead, be a "welcome" door mat, if that.

She carried the smell wherever she walkedWhich obviously made the gentlemen balk.
They'd shun her, so smelly in her funny clothes.
It seemed there was no end to her social woes.

But then she left home and went to real school
A minnow in a shark-infested pool.
She slowly discovered the secrets to "cool,"
And decided to break her parents' ev'ry rule!

She'd kiss all the boys and slap all the girls...
(That's as far as we got on that one.)

---

O, from whence comes the guests,
Arms crossed on their chests
To shield them from cold
And the demons of old.
But, the cold claims its own.
From the guests rose a groan
To see one of their own
Being eaten alive.

The End

Poems with Peter and Lindsay

I rediscovered these poems that Peter and I wrote this Spring during his visit to Bryan. We'll write one line, then pass the poem to the other until we have a complete, beautiful work of art. They're fun for creativity exercises, even if the rythms and rhymes are off at times. :)

My lines are normal, and Peter's lines are italicized.

---

The shrimp colony had reached its home.
"We're home!" called Father Shrimply.
The shrimpy shrimps ran out, their homeland to roam.
The wet ocean sand pink and pimply.

Such joy, so free! The shrimps swim 'round wild.
Gaily the invertebrates flitted around.
The barracuda only saw their gleeful smiles.
Before eating a shrimp names Giles.

---

The scent of face raspberry filled the air
But thankfully added to her sense of flair.
He's never respected the way she dressed
And truly her fashion was indeed repressed.

Culottes and jumpers and sensible shoes
And ugly barrettes, so yesterday's news
Or maybe actually the day before that.
Her clothes should, instead, be a "welcome" door mat, if that.

She carried the smell wherever she walkedWhich obviously made the gentlemen balk.
They'd shun her, so smelly in her funny clothes.
It seemed there was no end to her social woes.

But then she left home and went to real school
A minnow in a shark-infested pool.
She slowly discovered the secrets to "cool,"
And decided to break her parents' ev'ry rule!

She'd kiss all the boys and slap all the girls...
(That's as far as we got on that one.)

---

O, from whence comes the guests,
Arms crossed on their chests
To shield them from cold
And the demons of old.
But, the cold claims its own.
From the guests rose a groan
To see one of their own
Being eaten alive.

The End

One more work story

I began writing this on August 13th, but I had to stop and I never finished it, until now! Here we go:


I usually don't like to write about things that aggravate me, like when people act as if I were inept. In fact, I would much rather write about things that make me happy. I've written out a few lists of those things. I'm telling you this because it left me unsettled to post my last entry which was focused mainly on the negative. So, I have a new story. One that makes me happy.

It makes me happy when I can turn customers' sour moods into good ones. Yesterday, Angie gets my attention near this Expo stand. "Why are these prices different from the ones I got from your website?" she asks, pointing to a list of the office supplies store merchandise she had printed out from her computer. Uh... I really have no idea, so I say, "Uh, I'm not sure. When did you print this out?"
"I printed this out this morning. About 20 minutes ago. If you're going to have prices on the Internet that are..." She was obviously upset about this confusion, and she was starting to get frustrated and she was sounding angry. I'd been dealing with upset customers to frequently lately to have all of my manners in perfect order, and I cut her off. "I'm not sure why the prices are different, but you'll be able to get the lower price at the register, because we guarantee the lowest price here in the store." She seemed surprised, but pleased. She then proceeded to ask me where everything on her list was, with an air of some importance. But, you know, she was shopping for a whole school. Something like that. And she did have 3 young children in tow. One has to maintain some sense of control in such a situation, no? Anyway, we marked on her list where everything was and, after asking for help a few more times, she left (3 hours later!) a pleased customer, very thankful for my help! Success!

One more work story

I began writing this on August 13th, but I had to stop and I never finished it, until now! Here we go:


I usually don't like to write about things that aggravate me, like when people act as if I were inept. In fact, I would much rather write about things that make me happy. I've written out a few lists of those things. I'm telling you this because it left me unsettled to post my last entry which was focused mainly on the negative. So, I have a new story. One that makes me happy.

It makes me happy when I can turn customers' sour moods into good ones. Yesterday, Angie gets my attention near this Expo stand. "Why are these prices different from the ones I got from your website?" she asks, pointing to a list of the office supplies store merchandise she had printed out from her computer. Uh... I really have no idea, so I say, "Uh, I'm not sure. When did you print this out?"
"I printed this out this morning. About 20 minutes ago. If you're going to have prices on the Internet that are..." She was obviously upset about this confusion, and she was starting to get frustrated and she was sounding angry. I'd been dealing with upset customers to frequently lately to have all of my manners in perfect order, and I cut her off. "I'm not sure why the prices are different, but you'll be able to get the lower price at the register, because we guarantee the lowest price here in the store." She seemed surprised, but pleased. She then proceeded to ask me where everything on her list was, with an air of some importance. But, you know, she was shopping for a whole school. Something like that. And she did have 3 young children in tow. One has to maintain some sense of control in such a situation, no? Anyway, we marked on her list where everything was and, after asking for help a few more times, she left (3 hours later!) a pleased customer, very thankful for my help! Success!

"Yes, I suppose I do just write about whatever pops into my head."

One thing that I've realized this summer is that is makes me really angry when people act like I'm incompetent. This can look like me asking an associate one question, "where's the price gun," and said associate taking the item from my hand, getting the pricing fun, and sticking it with the appropriate stickers himself, instead of simply giving me the information I need so that I can carry on with the task I was given. (And I was given that task because my superior knew that I could handle it, thank you very much.) This can also look like a customer with a question about something who, when I approach, asks me, "is there anyone older I can talk to?" Don't be hatin'! And, my favorite: I was working on a project in the technology department. (I usually just deal with school and office supplies and furniture.) Bob comes in to take over the tech department for Adam. Adam shows Bob what he's been working on and, "here's Lindsay working on something (that she's obviously doing fine at, and notice that it's a very simple project anyway) but you may want to assist her." You may want to assist her?! Whatever Adam. You made me angry. I am not 2. I can do this myself. And, no, that was not chivalrous, that was demeaning. And, of course I am not exaggerating! This kind of thing just really, really agitates me. Oh, and this one's my favorite-favorite:

Here's the situation - I've been back at work from school about 2 days. Today's the first day I'll be working with this manager who was hired while I was away. We'll call him Tyrin. I psyched myself up to make a good impression with Tyrin, because I'd already heard him called some dirty words and, apparently, he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. So I get on the clock, head over to where he is, ready to introduce myself and, woah, he immediately sends me over to the register without so much as a hello! Rude! (You can take that in a Bon Qui Qui accent or an Ian Benardo accent. Both work here.) So I head on to the register. So much for first impressions. He totally blew his. Shortly after this, my line was getting too long. Jess asked on our radio walkie-talkies (which are so great!) if she could open up another register. Tyrin, that man made in the image of God, said, "No. Don't check out anyone. Lindsay needs to do all the customers herself so she can get good." First of all, you should have found a better way to say "so she can get good." It just sounds like poor grammar. Secondly, you are insinuating that I am not good, in front of every associate in the store (because we all have those great walkie-talkies.) Thirdly, you've never even watched me do one transaction! How can you make this assumption, blast it over the whole store, and then use poor grammar! Ever after, I referred to him as "the jerk manager" to my friends and family.

---

Blog. What does that bring to mind? A 16-year-old girl's pinings? A British lady's critiques on black tea? A photo fashion blog? When a co-worker came up to me when I was blogging and asked what I was doing (and I told him, "I'm blogging.")... Please pardon my incoherency. What I mean is, I wonder what people think when they hear the word blog, and what it does to their perceptions of me. Just a curiosity.

They say that you're not supposed to worry about what people think about you. That makes sense. Maybe I don't worry so much about it as I wonder. Yes, that's right. Sometimes, I'm really just curious, like when I was the only one in the group who hadn't done this and this and this and did they realize that I was really trying to live like a Christian should and did they think worse of me when I sprayed JP with water? (ha) And sometimes, I really cannot think about what others think of me because I'll get tangled in worry. What about this, and what about this, and am I being misunderstood and will they listen if I try to explain myself and will they even care enough to put forth the effort to understand.

- I love understanding. -

...and you'd think that with all of these communication classes I've taken (and gotten A's and two B's in) I'd have fewer problems than the average Jane but I can do all I want to explain myself but if they won't be receptive and if they won't set aside their previously held convictions and preferences, even for a short while, just long enough to try to make sense of what I'm thinking, then . You see why I can't dwell on these kinds of thoughts.

---

I ramble a lot when I'm typing. I hope I don't do it too much when I'm speaking, when it's less tolerable.

---

I have one more story.

This one lady co-worker of mine, we were working in the same area, cleaning the store. She was complaining about hot flashes, and, knowing that those are far from pleasant, tried to sympathize. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. You'll get 'em soon enough."
Ha! Ok then! What do you say to that?
I laugh every time I think about it.

"Yes, I suppose I do just write about whatever pops into my head."

One thing that I've realized this summer is that is makes me really angry when people act like I'm incompetent. This can look like me asking an associate one question, "where's the price gun," and said associate taking the item from my hand, getting the pricing fun, and sticking it with the appropriate stickers himself, instead of simply giving me the information I need so that I can carry on with the task I was given. (And I was given that task because my superior knew that I could handle it, thank you very much.) This can also look like a customer with a question about something who, when I approach, asks me, "is there anyone older I can talk to?" Don't be hatin'! And, my favorite: I was working on a project in the technology department. (I usually just deal with school and office supplies and furniture.) Bob comes in to take over the tech department for Adam. Adam shows Bob what he's been working on and, "here's Lindsay working on something (that she's obviously doing fine at, and notice that it's a very simple project anyway) but you may want to assist her." You may want to assist her?! Whatever Adam. You made me angry. I am not 2. I can do this myself. And, no, that was not chivalrous, that was demeaning. And, of course I am not exaggerating! This kind of thing just really, really agitates me. Oh, and this one's my favorite-favorite:

Here's the situation - I've been back at work from school about 2 days. Today's the first day I'll be working with this manager who was hired while I was away. We'll call him Tyrin. I psyched myself up to make a good impression with Tyrin, because I'd already heard him called some dirty words and, apparently, he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. So I get on the clock, head over to where he is, ready to introduce myself and, woah, he immediately sends me over to the register without so much as a hello! Rude! (You can take that in a Bon Qui Qui accent or an Ian Benardo accent. Both work here.) So I head on to the register. So much for first impressions. He totally blew his. Shortly after this, my line was getting too long. Jess asked on our radio walkie-talkies (which are so great!) if she could open up another register. Tyrin, that man made in the image of God, said, "No. Don't check out anyone. Lindsay needs to do all the customers herself so she can get good." First of all, you should have found a better way to say "so she can get good." It just sounds like poor grammar. Secondly, you are insinuating that I am not good, in front of every associate in the store (because we all have those great walkie-talkies.) Thirdly, you've never even watched me do one transaction! How can you make this assumption, blast it over the whole store, and then use poor grammar! Ever after, I referred to him as "the jerk manager" to my friends and family.

---

Blog. What does that bring to mind? A 16-year-old girl's pinings? A British lady's critiques on black tea? A photo fashion blog? When a co-worker came up to me when I was blogging and asked what I was doing (and I told him, "I'm blogging.")... Please pardon my incoherency. What I mean is, I wonder what people think when they hear the word blog, and what it does to their perceptions of me. Just a curiosity.

They say that you're not supposed to worry about what people think about you. That makes sense. Maybe I don't worry so much about it as I wonder. Yes, that's right. Sometimes, I'm really just curious, like when I was the only one in the group who hadn't done this and this and this and did they realize that I was really trying to live like a Christian should and did they think worse of me when I sprayed JP with water? (ha) And sometimes, I really cannot think about what others think of me because I'll get tangled in worry. What about this, and what about this, and am I being misunderstood and will they listen if I try to explain myself and will they even care enough to put forth the effort to understand.

- I love understanding. -

...and you'd think that with all of these communication classes I've taken (and gotten A's and two B's in) I'd have fewer problems than the average Jane but I can do all I want to explain myself but if they won't be receptive and if they won't set aside their previously held convictions and preferences, even for a short while, just long enough to try to make sense of what I'm thinking, then . You see why I can't dwell on these kinds of thoughts.

---

I ramble a lot when I'm typing. I hope I don't do it too much when I'm speaking, when it's less tolerable.

---

I have one more story.

This one lady co-worker of mine, we were working in the same area, cleaning the store. She was complaining about hot flashes, and, knowing that those are far from pleasant, tried to sympathize. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. You'll get 'em soon enough."
Ha! Ok then! What do you say to that?
I laugh every time I think about it.

More Job Fun!

Just a couple things before I head onto the clock @ work:

There was an irate customer the other day who was upset that she wouldn't be able to get the money back from a purchase that was made in May of this year. She asked for the phone number for corporate. My manager gave it to her, and the customer asked, "And this is the number to your headcoordinates?" I had to laugh. Inside, of course.

They play music at Rugged Wearhouse! There isn't any at my other office supplies store job, and the silence can get really eerie sometimes. But, at RW yesterday, I was thinking about how I don't like this one song I had heard earlier because I'm so certain that the lead singer is off pitch at this one part, and, of course, it just ruins the whole song. And then, wouldn't you know it, that song comes on next. Now that is eerie.

Last night, on my way home, I was surfing the radio channels when I came across the classical station. I listened to this alto sax jazz duet creatively entitled The Duo. This was near the end of a recording of The Savannah School of Music's live performance of The Battle Royale. Next, there was, I'd call it a jazz trumpet concerto. It made me think of Dr. Wilhoit, and it made me smile. In between the pieces, the composer of the last piece was giving a list of dully delivered facts regarding the Savanah School of Music, the Jazz festival, and some competition in Oregon. He sounded like he was from Chicago. His tone made me think that, if given the opportunity, I could do a better job than him of giving those facts in an interesting way. Maybe one day.

"Thank you for joining us on VWB radio this evening. I'm your host, Lindsay. Coming up, I'll be giving you tips on how to train your dog, insight on what your teenager's thinking when they leave the house, and all that juicy gossip revolving around your favorite celebrities. So stick around and relax with us tonight. Next up, Celine Dion..."

Heh.

And now, I have to go put on my uniform. It's off to work we go! But! only two more shifts of work after this one! It's not like I don't like my job, it's just that I'm ready for it to be finished for now. So ready.

More Job Fun!

Just a couple things before I head onto the clock @ work:

There was an irate customer the other day who was upset that she wouldn't be able to get the money back from a purchase that was made in May of this year. She asked for the phone number for corporate. My manager gave it to her, and the customer asked, "And this is the number to your headcoordinates?" I had to laugh. Inside, of course.

They play music at Rugged Wearhouse! There isn't any at my other office supplies store job, and the silence can get really eerie sometimes. But, at RW yesterday, I was thinking about how I don't like this one song I had heard earlier because I'm so certain that the lead singer is off pitch at this one part, and, of course, it just ruins the whole song. And then, wouldn't you know it, that song comes on next. Now that is eerie.

Last night, on my way home, I was surfing the radio channels when I came across the classical station. I listened to this alto sax jazz duet creatively entitled The Duo. This was near the end of a recording of The Savannah School of Music's live performance of The Battle Royale. Next, there was, I'd call it a jazz trumpet concerto. It made me think of Dr. Wilhoit, and it made me smile. In between the pieces, the composer of the last piece was giving a list of dully delivered facts regarding the Savanah School of Music, the Jazz festival, and some competition in Oregon. He sounded like he was from Chicago. His tone made me think that, if given the opportunity, I could do a better job than him of giving those facts in an interesting way. Maybe one day.

"Thank you for joining us on VWB radio this evening. I'm your host, Lindsay. Coming up, I'll be giving you tips on how to train your dog, insight on what your teenager's thinking when they leave the house, and all that juicy gossip revolving around your favorite celebrities. So stick around and relax with us tonight. Next up, Celine Dion..."

Heh.

And now, I have to go put on my uniform. It's off to work we go! But! only two more shifts of work after this one! It's not like I don't like my job, it's just that I'm ready for it to be finished for now. So ready.

First experience with Acacia Fellowship at Circa 1824

I'm at work, listening to music, and blogging after eating Mom's delicious chili pasta! Doesn't get much better than that, I s'poOose. I'm able to do all this because I get an hour for my lunch break today! WooHoo! I think that's to keep me from going overtime. I'm not that close, but close enough, I guess.

I got a splinter the other day. But I got it out. Ha. I just reminded myself of Lawrence from For the Title.

I don't know why I got on here to blog. Because I can? I don't really have anything to say. Well, I could talk about the Bible study I went to Thursday night! It was so awesome!

My dad works with this guy whose son goes to Acacia Fellowship, some kind of Bible/fellowship/Christian-people-my-age dealio. Dad kept reminding me and reminding me about this, and, yeah, I wanted to go, but I was always working. (Boo, work.) But! Last Thursday, I headed out for Acacia!

I got there eleven minutes early, but I headed in and found where I was supposed to be. When I got into the room, there were about ten people on couches with papers in their hands, going over really in-depth questions about what they were studying. This one, ehh, 27-ish-year-old gal, Jackie, hops right up. "Are you Lindsay?" she asks. Why, yes, I was. She comes over to me, gives me a hug, and tells me that my dad had called to ask where the thing was and she been expecting me and that lots of people only came every once in a while as they were able so there was no reason for me to feel out of place and they were so happy that I was there and would I like a brownie? Wow! She really, really made me feel welcome

In a short while, everyone who was already there, the leaders, went into a separate room to pray. Jackie asked if I'd like to come and pray with them. Umm... ok? So I go in and listen to their words and pray along. Wow, again. The words that they spoke, the love they cried out for, it was so deep. So real. These people knew what God had to offer them, and they begged for it. This was the real deal. After what seemed like 15 minutes, we headed back out to get ready for the Bible study. We split into groups of about 7 and discussed Shalom, what it means, what it will look like, all that good stuff. It was real. The study penetrated. The questions dared you to go deeper, to be vulnerable, to share innovative ideas. It was incredible. And the people in my group drank it all up! We thought out lout and discussed together. It was drenching to have these people take this so seriously, to really mean it, to enjoy it.

After the study, there was lots of hang out time. I got to meet people, re-meet people I already knew (that was cool), and play around the world ping pong. After all of that (yes, there's more!) I went to Taco Mac with 10 others and we hung out some more! It was such a blast. I'm so, so, so sorry that I didn't find out about Acacia until later in the summer and that I wasn't able to go until this week, but I am totally looking forward to next Thursday! It's going to be a worship service without the Bible study/preaching. It's bound to be just as good as this past week, and I'm way pumped!!! Thank You, God for showing me that there's people my age, in this area, who want You, who really want You, and who make the effort to find You! You're awesome!

First experience with Acacia Fellowship at Circa 1824

I'm at work, listening to music, and blogging after eating Mom's delicious chili pasta! Doesn't get much better than that, I s'poOose. I'm able to do all this because I get an hour for my lunch break today! WooHoo! I think that's to keep me from going overtime. I'm not that close, but close enough, I guess.

I got a splinter the other day. But I got it out. Ha. I just reminded myself of Lawrence from For the Title.

I don't know why I got on here to blog. Because I can? I don't really have anything to say. Well, I could talk about the Bible study I went to Thursday night! It was so awesome!

My dad works with this guy whose son goes to Acacia Fellowship, some kind of Bible/fellowship/Christian-people-my-age dealio. Dad kept reminding me and reminding me about this, and, yeah, I wanted to go, but I was always working. (Boo, work.) But! Last Thursday, I headed out for Acacia!

I got there eleven minutes early, but I headed in and found where I was supposed to be. When I got into the room, there were about ten people on couches with papers in their hands, going over really in-depth questions about what they were studying. This one, ehh, 27-ish-year-old gal, Jackie, hops right up. "Are you Lindsay?" she asks. Why, yes, I was. She comes over to me, gives me a hug, and tells me that my dad had called to ask where the thing was and she been expecting me and that lots of people only came every once in a while as they were able so there was no reason for me to feel out of place and they were so happy that I was there and would I like a brownie? Wow! She really, really made me feel welcome

In a short while, everyone who was already there, the leaders, went into a separate room to pray. Jackie asked if I'd like to come and pray with them. Umm... ok? So I go in and listen to their words and pray along. Wow, again. The words that they spoke, the love they cried out for, it was so deep. So real. These people knew what God had to offer them, and they begged for it. This was the real deal. After what seemed like 15 minutes, we headed back out to get ready for the Bible study. We split into groups of about 7 and discussed Shalom, what it means, what it will look like, all that good stuff. It was real. The study penetrated. The questions dared you to go deeper, to be vulnerable, to share innovative ideas. It was incredible. And the people in my group drank it all up! We thought out lout and discussed together. It was drenching to have these people take this so seriously, to really mean it, to enjoy it.

After the study, there was lots of hang out time. I got to meet people, re-meet people I already knew (that was cool), and play around the world ping pong. After all of that (yes, there's more!) I went to Taco Mac with 10 others and we hung out some more! It was such a blast. I'm so, so, so sorry that I didn't find out about Acacia until later in the summer and that I wasn't able to go until this week, but I am totally looking forward to next Thursday! It's going to be a worship service without the Bible study/preaching. It's bound to be just as good as this past week, and I'm way pumped!!! Thank You, God for showing me that there's people my age, in this area, who want You, who really want You, and who make the effort to find You! You're awesome!

Summer Jobs, Part II

The second installment!

While I'm at work, I think of so many things to write about here, and I hope that I remember them all now.

The first thing I want to mention is this sign we have at shirt folding store (SFS). The sign read "JEAN'S." Yes, with an appostraphe. Apostrophe "S." No, it's not a brand name, it's supposed to read "JEANS." What a world, eh? There's a similar story from office supplies store (OSS). We are selling a messenger bag that has this cool street-looking graphic with Big Ben in it. The letters at the bottom say "LONDONS CALLING." Here we go again. Whether the calling belongs to London or whether London is calling, we wouldn't have been able to know if there were an apostrophe, but now we don't care because we're frustrated that both jobs have grammar problems. And we hates it, don't we, preciouss? I hope that all of the kids in the back to school store traffic don't take these mistakes to heart, er, to homework.

Customers. There are those customers who believe that they are right no matter what. There are those customers who ask you where something is when they're two feet from it. There are those customers who say thank you 3 times for your help. There are those customers who drop their unwanted merchandise anywhere and everywhere (leaving flash drives under the crayons). There are the customers who laugh with you. The ones who tell your managers how helpful you were. There are... all kinds.

* In these stories, all names have been changed, or rather, I don't even know their names, so I'll make some up for them.

I was ringing up Angie at the register. Our credit card reader has another part attached to it at the top which makes it look like their could be two slots to slide your card, if you were half blind and you shook your hear while squinting at it. (It's not really that bad.) I tried to find a picture of it, but I couldn't find any. Well, Angie tried to slide her card through this pseudo slot. "Oh! That's not it! Why didn't I see that? Ha, I'm such an idiot."

"That's ok, you're not the only one," I say. A half second later, I realized that what I meant to say, "You're not the only one who makes that mistake, it's no big deal," could very easily be taken as, "You're not the only idiot. Lots of idiots come into this store." Oops.

Mrs. Boone asked me if we had any more of those plastic pencil pouches. I was on my way to the back with a U-Boat, but I told her that I could check. She said ok. I just noticed a a bin label (a price tag) on the floor, so I picked it up and started to put in back where it belonged, which was right here at this post-it note dump bin. She looks at me and says, "Are you looking it up now?" Oooh, that ticked me off. But I went and checked, told her were out (and we really were), and then avoided her for the rest of the time.

That reminds me of Mrs. Carl. I was back in receiving (the warehouse part of the store), on my way back to the sales floor. Mrs. Carl comes up to me asking if we still sold a small clock. "No, ma'am, we only sell the standard sizes."

"Well I've bought them here before."
"Yes, we may have sold them here in the past, but they must have been discontinued. We don't carry them anymore."

"Well, why not?!"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question without making you sound foolish by bringing up the basic economic laws of supply and demand. I hope you'll understand. Perhaps you could try our catalog or another store entirely, preferably one far away from here."

Ok, I didn't really say that. I thought of that comeback an hour later, I'm afraid. That's probably a good thing. But, she did say, "Well, why not?!" Sigh. Silly lady.

Mrs. Diana had found these nifty binder clips. She showed them to me before she checked out when she asked me where something else was. After she checked out, she came back to me. "Can you check my receipt to see if these binder clips I bought really are the 73 cent item here?"

"Ummm... Yep! Yes, they are."

"Really? Wow! These are so cute! If I'd known they were so cheap, I'd have bought more! Do you know where there are more?"

"Hrm. I don't think they're these on clearance, no, they must be somewhere else. I know I've seen them before, like, in a dump bin or on a clip strip. How about I'll go and look for them, and I'll come back and find you if I find them."

"Yeah, ok. That would be so wonderful. See on the package? I think they come in different colors. But, if you could find them, that would be so great."

"Sure!"

So I go and hunt around in the store. I find them 8 aisles down, and I'm excited to bring them to her and to show them to her. She's excited, too, and she was so appreciative of my help. She bought about 4-6 more and was a very satisfied customer. She was so pleased, she told my manager about how nice it was, the customer service. That made me very satisfied, indeed, to know that I'd made her so happy. I got this very fulfilled feeling. It was good. Times like that make me like my job.

Unfortunately, these last couple days of work, I was running with very low tolerance and energy levels. It's very hard for me to be gracious when I want to be asleep. I had to explain to a few customers yesterday when I was taking a long time to remember where the CD covers were, "I'm sorry, my brain's just been fried." Yesterday was my 7th day in a row of working at OSS. Four of those days had me working mornings at SFS, too, and I was beat. To near death, it seemed. Monday night, I knew that I'd be a monster the next day, the seventh day, especially after two nights of only six hours of sleep. I made it through my SFS shift all right, but I came into my OSS shift already tired. That's not a good sign. I was low all shift until about 7 when something just clicked. My manager joked that that's what 's called delirium, Lindsay. Maybe so. But, after seven, I was more chipper, more helpful, and more productive. I'm glad. It made me unhappy to have to be working on the clock at half power. So I was able to kick it into gear, shape up that awful binder aisle, and be satisfied with the final product. Those binders were gorgeous when I left.

Yesterday at RW, I processed some long sleeved Ts, among other things. This Forever 21 purple top caught my eye and I tried it on after work. I bought it and a pair of super cool earrings for less than $4! WooHoo! I'm going to take some more time for back to school clothes shopping on Thursday after work @ SFS because I don't have to go to OSS afterwards. Yay!

Oh, and, I have the best parents. Ever. Monday night, I came home exhausted (a new trend). I walk to where they were in the den. "I'm home."

"Hello, baby. Would you like an early birthday present?"

I was so dead. All usual life was gone. I was cranky and blah and I just wanted to break down and cry. "No," I whimper.

...

After a short while, my curiousity came back. "I guess I could have it now..." So Mom took me to the kitchen and handed me a gift bag. Inside was a gift certificate for a facial, manicure, and a pedicure from a local spa. Wow. Thank you, guys. Do you have mind reading super powers? Much love to you both!

I know I have some other stories somewhere. I can't find them right now.

For life outside of work, it's been rainy a lot lately. Besides rain in itself being somewhat significant, it makes my many flyaways go all over the place. Boo frizzy hair. My bangs have been wishy-washy, too. I like where they are now, though, and I'm still looking forward to my hair growing out to where I've had it before. I've also found that I need to use my straightener more often. Some weird wave comes up, and my hair doesn't dry straight-straight anymore. I hate growing up.

I've got only a week and a half before I'm 21 and before I go back to school. And then what? We'll see what happens. With lots of new things and less familiar things, it will, of course, be different. I'm looking forward to it. In fact, speaking of new things, which leads to new people, when I was a tthe orientation group leader meeting, I was in the minority as an upper classmen. I think there were 4 other juniors there, maybe 8 sophomores, and a billion freshman. It'll be good.

Ok, that's it for now.

Summer Jobs, Part II

The second installment!

While I'm at work, I think of so many things to write about here, and I hope that I remember them all now.

The first thing I want to mention is this sign we have at shirt folding store (SFS). The sign read "JEAN'S." Yes, with an appostraphe. Apostrophe "S." No, it's not a brand name, it's supposed to read "JEANS." What a world, eh? There's a similar story from office supplies store (OSS). We are selling a messenger bag that has this cool street-looking graphic with Big Ben in it. The letters at the bottom say "LONDONS CALLING." Here we go again. Whether the calling belongs to London or whether London is calling, we wouldn't have been able to know if there were an apostrophe, but now we don't care because we're frustrated that both jobs have grammar problems. And we hates it, don't we, preciouss? I hope that all of the kids in the back to school store traffic don't take these mistakes to heart, er, to homework.

Customers. There are those customers who believe that they are right no matter what. There are those customers who ask you where something is when they're two feet from it. There are those customers who say thank you 3 times for your help. There are those customers who drop their unwanted merchandise anywhere and everywhere (leaving flash drives under the crayons). There are the customers who laugh with you. The ones who tell your managers how helpful you were. There are... all kinds.

* In these stories, all names have been changed, or rather, I don't even know their names, so I'll make some up for them.

I was ringing up Angie at the register. Our credit card reader has another part attached to it at the top which makes it look like their could be two slots to slide your card, if you were half blind and you shook your hear while squinting at it. (It's not really that bad.) I tried to find a picture of it, but I couldn't find any. Well, Angie tried to slide her card through this pseudo slot. "Oh! That's not it! Why didn't I see that? Ha, I'm such an idiot."

"That's ok, you're not the only one," I say. A half second later, I realized that what I meant to say, "You're not the only one who makes that mistake, it's no big deal," could very easily be taken as, "You're not the only idiot. Lots of idiots come into this store." Oops.

Mrs. Boone asked me if we had any more of those plastic pencil pouches. I was on my way to the back with a U-Boat, but I told her that I could check. She said ok. I just noticed a a bin label (a price tag) on the floor, so I picked it up and started to put in back where it belonged, which was right here at this post-it note dump bin. She looks at me and says, "Are you looking it up now?" Oooh, that ticked me off. But I went and checked, told her were out (and we really were), and then avoided her for the rest of the time.

That reminds me of Mrs. Carl. I was back in receiving (the warehouse part of the store), on my way back to the sales floor. Mrs. Carl comes up to me asking if we still sold a small clock. "No, ma'am, we only sell the standard sizes."

"Well I've bought them here before."
"Yes, we may have sold them here in the past, but they must have been discontinued. We don't carry them anymore."

"Well, why not?!"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question without making you sound foolish by bringing up the basic economic laws of supply and demand. I hope you'll understand. Perhaps you could try our catalog or another store entirely, preferably one far away from here."

Ok, I didn't really say that. I thought of that comeback an hour later, I'm afraid. That's probably a good thing. But, she did say, "Well, why not?!" Sigh. Silly lady.

Mrs. Diana had found these nifty binder clips. She showed them to me before she checked out when she asked me where something else was. After she checked out, she came back to me. "Can you check my receipt to see if these binder clips I bought really are the 73 cent item here?"

"Ummm... Yep! Yes, they are."

"Really? Wow! These are so cute! If I'd known they were so cheap, I'd have bought more! Do you know where there are more?"

"Hrm. I don't think they're these on clearance, no, they must be somewhere else. I know I've seen them before, like, in a dump bin or on a clip strip. How about I'll go and look for them, and I'll come back and find you if I find them."

"Yeah, ok. That would be so wonderful. See on the package? I think they come in different colors. But, if you could find them, that would be so great."

"Sure!"

So I go and hunt around in the store. I find them 8 aisles down, and I'm excited to bring them to her and to show them to her. She's excited, too, and she was so appreciative of my help. She bought about 4-6 more and was a very satisfied customer. She was so pleased, she told my manager about how nice it was, the customer service. That made me very satisfied, indeed, to know that I'd made her so happy. I got this very fulfilled feeling. It was good. Times like that make me like my job.

Unfortunately, these last couple days of work, I was running with very low tolerance and energy levels. It's very hard for me to be gracious when I want to be asleep. I had to explain to a few customers yesterday when I was taking a long time to remember where the CD covers were, "I'm sorry, my brain's just been fried." Yesterday was my 7th day in a row of working at OSS. Four of those days had me working mornings at SFS, too, and I was beat. To near death, it seemed. Monday night, I knew that I'd be a monster the next day, the seventh day, especially after two nights of only six hours of sleep. I made it through my SFS shift all right, but I came into my OSS shift already tired. That's not a good sign. I was low all shift until about 7 when something just clicked. My manager joked that that's what 's called delirium, Lindsay. Maybe so. But, after seven, I was more chipper, more helpful, and more productive. I'm glad. It made me unhappy to have to be working on the clock at half power. So I was able to kick it into gear, shape up that awful binder aisle, and be satisfied with the final product. Those binders were gorgeous when I left.

Yesterday at RW, I processed some long sleeved Ts, among other things. This Forever 21 purple top caught my eye and I tried it on after work. I bought it and a pair of super cool earrings for less than $4! WooHoo! I'm going to take some more time for back to school clothes shopping on Thursday after work @ SFS because I don't have to go to OSS afterwards. Yay!

Oh, and, I have the best parents. Ever. Monday night, I came home exhausted (a new trend). I walk to where they were in the den. "I'm home."

"Hello, baby. Would you like an early birthday present?"

I was so dead. All usual life was gone. I was cranky and blah and I just wanted to break down and cry. "No," I whimper.

...

After a short while, my curiousity came back. "I guess I could have it now..." So Mom took me to the kitchen and handed me a gift bag. Inside was a gift certificate for a facial, manicure, and a pedicure from a local spa. Wow. Thank you, guys. Do you have mind reading super powers? Much love to you both!

I know I have some other stories somewhere. I can't find them right now.

For life outside of work, it's been rainy a lot lately. Besides rain in itself being somewhat significant, it makes my many flyaways go all over the place. Boo frizzy hair. My bangs have been wishy-washy, too. I like where they are now, though, and I'm still looking forward to my hair growing out to where I've had it before. I've also found that I need to use my straightener more often. Some weird wave comes up, and my hair doesn't dry straight-straight anymore. I hate growing up.

I've got only a week and a half before I'm 21 and before I go back to school. And then what? We'll see what happens. With lots of new things and less familiar things, it will, of course, be different. I'm looking forward to it. In fact, speaking of new things, which leads to new people, when I was a tthe orientation group leader meeting, I was in the minority as an upper classmen. I think there were 4 other juniors there, maybe 8 sophomores, and a billion freshman. It'll be good.

Ok, that's it for now.

Summer Jobs, Part I

I have something I can write about!

Here is the first installment of stories from work! I am, in fact, writing from the office supplies store right now, in the Store Manager's office. Don't worry, he said I could use his computer, and I'm not on the clock yet. And, no, I don't hang out here for fun while I'm not scheduled, I just finished working at shirt folding store for the day, and I've come over here to wait 45 minutes for my shift to begin.

The first thing I want to tell you about - Today, at shirt folding store, I was given the task of, dun dun dun! Organizing the jewelry! Huzzah! Actually, it really looked like a disaster when I got started. There are two racks with about the same surface area as two refrigerator boxes, full of jewelry. The name brands were all mixed in with each other, and it was a mess. I had other jewelry to put out, and then I had to reorganize everything. It took me all but 30 minutes of my shift, but I nearly completed it! I used up all of the short pegs we had available (to hang the earrings on), and then I had to be resourceful with the huge amount that was left, but I am so please with how it looks now! Three out of 8 sides look gorgeous, and the others aren't too bad, either. My three co-workers told me at each opportunity that it looked great, that I'd done a great job, and Constance made sure to tell me one last time before I headed out the door. A job well done. And I am satisfied.

SFS's been pretty good so far. I only work mornings, so I barely have to deal with any rush at all. Hardly any customers, hardly any register time, just me, some clothes, and price stickers, for the most part. And the other associates that I've met are really nice. This one gal seemed aloof at first, but we had to drop off a deposit at the bank together today, and we were really chatting it up by the time we got back to the store. That was good. Everyone's above 30, except for two or three, and I haven't even met but one of them. And they work in the evenings, so, whatever.

OSS's going well, too. I'm glad that I've been able to go out to eat with some OSSco-workers. It's no Bryan get-together, but it's fun, and I believe it's good for me. I hung out with them last night (instead of going home to get more than 6 hours of sleep). Yeah, it was fun.

The next installments to this saga, I'm planning on making them customer stories. Just a heads up, they may sound like complaining, and they may actually be complaining, but I'll never see those customers again, and they'll never see me again, and we don't even know each other's names, so it'll be all right.

I'll go ahead and tell you this one, since I have 9 minutes before I need to go put on my uniform. (By the way, it's so great to be able to work at a place where I don't have to wear a uniform! Thank you, SFS!) So, yesterday, I was refilling these index cards in our heavily trafficked center aisle. I notice this one lady, probably in her fifties or sixties, looking at what I assumed to be her shopping list and looking puzzled. "Can I help you find anything ma'am?"
"Well, I was trying to remember... Do y'all sell satchels?"
Hmm... "What kind of satchels?"
"Well, I'd need it to be about this big, and it'd need to be durable. I didn't know if you sold any here or not..."
"What do you need it for, ma'am?"
"Oh, I need it for my harp. (What?) I was looking for a case for it, and I didn't know if you would have anything here or not."
"Uh... Well, I don't think we'd have anything like what you're looking for, ma'am. I play the violin, myself, and I know that any musician will want more than the laptop cases we sell here to keep their instrument safe."
"Oh! You play the violin? Oh, I love music. I've learned to play the piana, and now I'm learning how to play the harp... I wasn't all that bad that the piana, either, when I first started, when I was teachin' myself..."
"Yeah, but, um, maybe you could check Newnan Music (a music store a mile away)."
"Newnan Music? Oh, is that up that way and around this store and yada yada directions? I forgit that that's there. I just get so caught up in everything. I like to stay busy. I like to try new things. Do you think they'd have one?"
"Uh, well, I don't know if they'd have any harp cases laying around, but, um, I bet they could order one for you."
"Yes. I love the harp. I didn't want no big one. I've got me a little short one. I'm learning how to play the piano. I wanna learn to play so many instruments. I can play the accordion, too. I just like to pick up new things. Do you garden? I love to garden. Now, that stuff'll keell yeh, bending down and your back and the heat. But I've got some daffodils and irises and tulips. Sometimes I think my life's useless and I'm not worth anythin', but then they say, 'Now tell me about that garden.' And, I've got some re Japanese Maples. Now, I didn't plant those myself. But I've got this drill that'll drill down in the ground like this, and I've got some blue hydrangeas with some big beautiful blooms... So you play the violin? Do you play in, like, um, in... like, an orchestra?"
"Oh... ]blink blink] No, ma'am. I can't now because of school."
"Oh. Well, I love the violin. It's so purty."
"Yes, I love it, too. I pretty much think it's the best."
"Well, [chuckles] I wouldn't say which one's the best, cuz I like all of 'em!"
"Mhm... [to other customer] Oh, there are more of those on aisle 16."
I couldn't help it. It was so much like a Devon story from LifeWay, I had to hide my giggles from this sweet little lady as she was telling me about the beautiful flowers she has.

Off to work for now! Take care!

Summer Jobs, Part I

I have something I can write about!

Here is the first installment of stories from work! I am, in fact, writing from the office supplies store right now, in the Store Manager's office. Don't worry, he said I could use his computer, and I'm not on the clock yet. And, no, I don't hang out here for fun while I'm not scheduled, I just finished working at shirt folding store for the day, and I've come over here to wait 45 minutes for my shift to begin.

The first thing I want to tell you about - Today, at shirt folding store, I was given the task of, dun dun dun! Organizing the jewelry! Huzzah! Actually, it really looked like a disaster when I got started. There are two racks with about the same surface area as two refrigerator boxes, full of jewelry. The name brands were all mixed in with each other, and it was a mess. I had other jewelry to put out, and then I had to reorganize everything. It took me all but 30 minutes of my shift, but I nearly completed it! I used up all of the short pegs we had available (to hang the earrings on), and then I had to be resourceful with the huge amount that was left, but I am so please with how it looks now! Three out of 8 sides look gorgeous, and the others aren't too bad, either. My three co-workers told me at each opportunity that it looked great, that I'd done a great job, and Constance made sure to tell me one last time before I headed out the door. A job well done. And I am satisfied.

SFS's been pretty good so far. I only work mornings, so I barely have to deal with any rush at all. Hardly any customers, hardly any register time, just me, some clothes, and price stickers, for the most part. And the other associates that I've met are really nice. This one gal seemed aloof at first, but we had to drop off a deposit at the bank together today, and we were really chatting it up by the time we got back to the store. That was good. Everyone's above 30, except for two or three, and I haven't even met but one of them. And they work in the evenings, so, whatever.

OSS's going well, too. I'm glad that I've been able to go out to eat with some OSSco-workers. It's no Bryan get-together, but it's fun, and I believe it's good for me. I hung out with them last night (instead of going home to get more than 6 hours of sleep). Yeah, it was fun.

The next installments to this saga, I'm planning on making them customer stories. Just a heads up, they may sound like complaining, and they may actually be complaining, but I'll never see those customers again, and they'll never see me again, and we don't even know each other's names, so it'll be all right.

I'll go ahead and tell you this one, since I have 9 minutes before I need to go put on my uniform. (By the way, it's so great to be able to work at a place where I don't have to wear a uniform! Thank you, SFS!) So, yesterday, I was refilling these index cards in our heavily trafficked center aisle. I notice this one lady, probably in her fifties or sixties, looking at what I assumed to be her shopping list and looking puzzled. "Can I help you find anything ma'am?"
"Well, I was trying to remember... Do y'all sell satchels?"
Hmm... "What kind of satchels?"
"Well, I'd need it to be about this big, and it'd need to be durable. I didn't know if you sold any here or not..."
"What do you need it for, ma'am?"
"Oh, I need it for my harp. (What?) I was looking for a case for it, and I didn't know if you would have anything here or not."
"Uh... Well, I don't think we'd have anything like what you're looking for, ma'am. I play the violin, myself, and I know that any musician will want more than the laptop cases we sell here to keep their instrument safe."
"Oh! You play the violin? Oh, I love music. I've learned to play the piana, and now I'm learning how to play the harp... I wasn't all that bad that the piana, either, when I first started, when I was teachin' myself..."
"Yeah, but, um, maybe you could check Newnan Music (a music store a mile away)."
"Newnan Music? Oh, is that up that way and around this store and yada yada directions? I forgit that that's there. I just get so caught up in everything. I like to stay busy. I like to try new things. Do you think they'd have one?"
"Uh, well, I don't know if they'd have any harp cases laying around, but, um, I bet they could order one for you."
"Yes. I love the harp. I didn't want no big one. I've got me a little short one. I'm learning how to play the piano. I wanna learn to play so many instruments. I can play the accordion, too. I just like to pick up new things. Do you garden? I love to garden. Now, that stuff'll keell yeh, bending down and your back and the heat. But I've got some daffodils and irises and tulips. Sometimes I think my life's useless and I'm not worth anythin', but then they say, 'Now tell me about that garden.' And, I've got some re Japanese Maples. Now, I didn't plant those myself. But I've got this drill that'll drill down in the ground like this, and I've got some blue hydrangeas with some big beautiful blooms... So you play the violin? Do you play in, like, um, in... like, an orchestra?"
"Oh... ]blink blink] No, ma'am. I can't now because of school."
"Oh. Well, I love the violin. It's so purty."
"Yes, I love it, too. I pretty much think it's the best."
"Well, [chuckles] I wouldn't say which one's the best, cuz I like all of 'em!"
"Mhm... [to other customer] Oh, there are more of those on aisle 16."
I couldn't help it. It was so much like a Devon story from LifeWay, I had to hide my giggles from this sweet little lady as she was telling me about the beautiful flowers she has.

Off to work for now! Take care!